Cold header



R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Jan. 5, 1954 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 00's. 8, 1948 l I I R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Jan. 5, 1954 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 Jill 671235;

R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Jan. 5, 1954 9 Sheets-$heet 3 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 Jan. 5, 1954 R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Jan. 5, 1954 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 E5 II Jan. 5, 1954 R. R. AKEY 2,664,579

COLD HEADER Filed Oct; 8, 1948 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jude/ Z37 Kobe/"Z513. flitey Jan. 5, 1954 R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Filed 001:. 8, 1948 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 R. R. AKEY Jan. 5, 1954 COLD HEADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 R. R. AKEY COLD HEADER Jan. 5, 1954 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 120 51? 'ber 7123/ Patented Jan. 5, 1954 B lae 501 s,, o llinois Rockford, 111., a corporation Application October 8, 1918, Serial No. 53,561

This invention relates to headersv or upsetting machines.

In such machines it is common practice intermittently to feed the stock, such as. a wire or rod, into. the machine and cutv on blanks therefrom, which are transferred to. appropriate tools, where, after two. or more operations are pere formed thereon, the headed or upset blanks. are ejected.

Headers. as heretofore designed and con-. structed were capable of producing a, completed rivet. or bolt. with every two revolutions of the flywheel. It; is they principal object or my invene tion to. provide a, header so designed and C011? structed that. a. completed rivet orboltv is. ob,- tained upon each revolution of the flywheel, which means a, one. hundred per cent, step-up. in

production.

Another object. is to provide a. header in which the. die head shifts 18,03 in. one direction one cycle, and is, turned backs rac in the next ycle. and has. two. opemnes with. identical square. re.- cesses in the outer ends h reof. he b ankv t be upset bein entered the on hole partially upset, and the. same. Woke the previously nartially unset blank. in. the oth r h e meet. to its final; form. rov ding; a ad ith a. quare shank; und r" it or any other desired s ape. th previously partially upset portion furnis g; the built at the metal; ne essa y or t e some other shaped. sh -n12 po t o under th head- In connection. w th. the reve sib e die head her are pioneers. and bach un pi s work n the hole the die head. a (5 arr n ed to coo er te a ternatoly with a badg rs scre to provide. prop back-ins up for the blank. n the in t a u s t tin operation, to b e letermine th ext n t which the ohm or wil b permi ted o r ede. in the final ups ing operati n. a equir d. fo th prop r forming of th square. o o her shap shank under he head The ma h ne o my nventi n is. so designed that thi ced n feature is built in at very he added ost, wh rea ith other head rs of 0th I esi ns it has alway been necessary to. rovide especia reced n attachment, stin n the nei hborhood of $1500.00. Moreover, with my improved method of upsetting square-shanked rivets and bolts. in two steps, I obtain a much higher grade product, because I have found that there is better continuity of grain between the head and the upset square shank and between the upset shank and the plain shank than has been obtained with other methods. b n l nown to a extent the heads on rivets produced on certain 2 headers had a tendency to fracture even though to all outward appearances the rivets seemed: to be satisfactory.

In the machine of my invention, the shiftable die head is turned in bearings on the frame instead of on the ram, thereby enabling running at. higher: speed without. too much vibration, and, in accordance with my invention, plungers working in guides. in the frame and operated under hydraulic pressure transmit. the back and forth oscillatory movement to. the die head through two series of balls. traveling in racewaysprovided therefor in the bearing for the shifting drum, accurate positioning of the die head at opposite extremes of movement. be ng assured by the provision of manually adjustable set screws with which radial projections. on the shifting drum come into abutment. when th die head has been turned as far as it. should 8.0., the balls giving positive movement with, mini,- mum fraction losses in a relatively simple and economical construction and Without dan er Qf any breakage. in the event of a jam, because if a jam occurs, pressure merely builds up the fluid line extendingto. the. operating; (iv-1 1K131", causing-a relief valve, to be. opened. 91 lieturn of fluid to. the sump.

The invention is. illustrated in the accompany.- ing drawings, Winch-e Fi 1 is a side. viewof. a header made accordance with myinrention. portions o the machine beingbroken away to enabl s o ng the machine on a lar er scale;

Fi s. 2 and 3. are. end ie o he ma hine taken from oppos te e ds;

Fig. 4 is a lon itudina section o g h machine taken on. the broken line 4-.-,4 of Fig. 3.;

P e 5 is a plan view F 4.;

F 6 is a horizonta se ti n hr ugh. he d s taken on the line 6-:6, of; Fig. 4;

Figs. '1 and 8. are cross-se ti ns aken. on the co re ndin ly n mb red ines of Fig. 4, ooking in 91 1178 dil-TQQti fi;

Fig. 13 is a section similar to a portion oftFFigJ 11. taken on the line |3--I3 of Fig. 12, showing .there is nothing to 3 the other set of balls in elevation that appear in dotted lines in Fig. 11;

Figs. 14, 15, and 16 show the three stages in the production of a completed rivet or bolt, the blank being shown in Fig. 14, the same blank partially upset being shown in Fig. 15, and the finished product in Fig. 16;

Figs. 17 to 20 are more or less diagrammatic views showing the operation of the dies throughout two complete cycles of the machine;

Fig. 21 is a hydraulic circuit diagram, and

Fig. 22 is a view of the control panel for the machine.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first briefly to Figs. 14 to 20, the reference numeral 23 designates a blank cut by the cut-off knife 24 from the wire stock 25 fed through the hole 23 in the cut-off die 21, after the stock has been fed far enough to engage the stop 28v to insure the correct length of blank. See Figs. 18 and 19. Fig. 18 shows the cut-off knife 24 in the cut-off position. Fig. 19, in full lines, shows the cut-ofi knife 24 advanced from the cut-off position, that is indicated in dotted lines, to the inserting position. Fig. 29 shows the dies closed in the first upsetting operation, the cut-ofi knife 24 having been previously retracted to the cut-off position adjacent the cut off die 21, as it appears in this view. In the first upsetting operation, a conical or pear-shaped head is formed on the end of the blank, as illustrated at 29 in Fig. 15 on the intermediate form of blank 230., the blank 23 being entered in hole 30 in die in this operation backed up by a pin 1 suitable guides 41 provided therefor in the frame 32 in the manner shown in Figs. 17 and 20, while the outer end is received in a pilot recess 33 in the coning punch 34, which moves, as will soon appear, with the ram 35 (Fig. 4) toward and away from the die head 36 that carries the die 3| and another identical die 3| in spaced parallel relation and is shiftable on its longitudinal axis through 180 so that the die 3| cooperates with punch 34 in one cycle, and the die 3 I cooperates with punch 34 in the next cycle. The ram carries a finishing punch 31 in spaced parallel relation to the punch 34 to cooperate with whichever ofthe two dies 3| and 3| is aligned therewith to perform the final upsetting operation producing the conventional fiat bottomed rounded head 38 with a square, or other shaped, shank portion 39 under it, depending upon the shape of the recesses 40 in the outer ends of the holes 39 in dies 3| and 3|. See the finally formed blank 23b illustrated in Fig. 16. The reversal of the dies 3| and 3| in relation to the punches 34 and 31 is clearly illustrated by comparison of Figs. 18 and 19, Fig. 18 showing the ejection of a completed rivet or bolt 23b from die 3|, and Fig. 19 showing the dies reversed so that die 3| is aligned with punch 34, ready to receive a blank 23 for its initial upsetting operation, the previously initially upset blank 23a in die 3| being at the same time aligned with punch 31 for its final upsetting operation. The conclusion of these two upsetting operations is shown in Fig. 20. The cut-off knife 24 has the usual spring clip 4|v thereon, which serves to grip the blank releasably by its end portion and transfer it, as shown in Fig. 19, from the cut-off die 21 to whichever of the dies 3| and 3| is nearest the die 21 in a given cycle. The bellshaped recess 42 in punch 34 gives ample clearance for the end portion of the blank, so that interfere with the bulging-out of. the metal to form the conical or pear shaped head 29 on the intermediate form of blank 23a, shown in Fig. 15, as illustrated in Figs. 17 and 20, the bulging-out at 29 occurring mainly in the recess 40 of whichever of the dies 3| and 3| is aligned with punch 34. The punch 31, on the other hand, has a spheroidal-shaped recess 43, which cooperates with whichever recess 49 is aligned therewith to form the head 38 and shank '39 in the upsetting of the intermediate form of head 29, and special attention is called to the fact that in this final upsetting operation, the blank is allowed to recede, pin 32 being free to back up in whichever die 31 and 3| is aligned with punch 31-for the final upsetting operation. In that way I insure a sharply defined head 38 and shank 39, and, incidentally, also I believe that because the metal is allowed to fiow from the recess 49 int) the hole 30 in this final upsetting operation, a better continuity of grain between the shank and head of the final rivet or bolt produced is obtained, which accounts for the fact that there is far less tendency for the heads to fracture off when the bolt or rivet is later used. The extent to which the blank recedes in the final upsetting operation is clearly illustrated in Figs. 17 and 21". It is also important to note that with each reciprocation of the punches 34 and 31 a finished bolt or rivet 23b is producedin other words, one per revolution of the flywheel 44 and crankshaft 45, as compared with one for every two revolutions heretofore, which means one hundred per cent step-up in production. The crankshaft 45 is connected with the ram 35 by means of a connecting rod 46, and the ram 35 operates in 48. As previously mentioned, the ram 35 is the only working part of the present header. that is not operated hydraulically, the reason being that positiveness of movement or stroke length is essential in upsetting, because of differences in hardness of different batches of wire stock 25 used. However, a friction drive mechanism is provided at 49 (Fig. 2) between the flywheel 44 and crankshaft 45, which, in the event of a severe jam occurring in the machine, will allow slippage, thereby supplementing the safety features provided in this machine by virtue of the hydraulic circuits, as'mentioned above and as hereinafter described.

Referring next to Fig. 21, and incidentally to the other Figures 1 to 13 for identification of the various parts as assembled parts of the machine, it is believed that the construction and mode of operation of the machine can be best understood by reference mainly to the hydraulic diagram, Fig. 21. A coil of wire stock 25 is placed on a rack at one end of the machine, and the end of the wire is started through the wire feeding rolls 50 and 5|. Then the button 52 on the control panel, indicated diagrammatically at 53 in Fig. 22, is pressed, starting the electric motor 54 which drives the double pump 55, so as to force oil through the different valves actuated by pilot valves to cause certain cylinder actions to perform the various operations named for cutting off, transferring, and ejecting blanks. Then button 59 is pressed, to start the machine drive motor (not shown), which has a variable speed belt and pulley connection with the flywheel 44, so as to transmit drive to the crankshaft 45 through the friction drive mechanism 49. Next the button 56 is pressed, to start the motor 51 for the lubricating pump 58 (Figs. 3 and 4). The

other two buttons 59 and 60 on the control panel 53 are used in stopping the machine, the button "50 being pressed to. stop the motor 54-, after which button 50 is pressed to stop the machine drive .motor driving flywheel 44, and, finally, button J56. is pressed to. stop the motor 5'! driving the lubricating pump 58. The pump 55- has its suction pipe 5| communicating with a suitable sump, indicated diagrammatically at 62, through a strainer (53. Assuming buttons 52, 54, and 55 have been pressed, in the order named, to start the various'motors mentioned, so that pump 55 is operating to supply oil under pressure, and the machine is driven by the flywheel 44, and lubricated by the pump 58, the following sequence occurs:

(1) The ram carries dogs 04 to 08, which are arranged to engage and turn segments to actuate pilot valves 70,, II, and i2, and, in turn, operate main control valves I3, 14, and I5, which control the delivery of the oil, or other fluid, under pressure from pump to the cylinders '16, TI, and 18, respectively. The ram 35, it must be understood, has traveled to its forward limit and is now starting back. for the commencement of another cycle, a complete cycle being 360, or one complete revolution of the flywheel M. All operations referred to hereinafter will be expressed in terms of degrees of annular travel of the flywheel.

(2') At the 15 position of the flywheel, turn- -ing in a clockwise direction, dog operates.

pilot valve I0, and thereby energizes main control valve 13 with which it is connected by the lines,

indicated at 79, whereby to operate the piston working in cylinder 16, the valve I3 being connected, as at 81, with the cylinder 16. Piston feed wire 25 forwardly to the cut-off position, L

as in Fig. 18, abutting the adjustable stop 28. Th latter has a rack. 88 attached thereto, which ;meshes with a pinion 89, that can be turned by hand by means of the knob and locked in adjusted position by the tightening of the hand nut 9|, as is believed, to be clear in Figs. 1, 5, and 8. Dog 05 is pivoted on ram 35 and urged upwardly to operative position under light spring pressure, so as to be operative only in the rearward movement of the ram, the dog being devflected by the star wheel on valve '10 in the return movement of the ram so as to pass idly under it in. that direction. If necessary, the star wheel on this valve may be provided with a ratchet wheel and pawl to prevent any reverse rotation,

(,3) As the ram 35 moves farther, to av 60 position of the flywheel 44, the next dog 60 operates. pilot valve F0, to reverse the operation of main control valve 73 and return the piston 80 in cylinder I0 to a retracted position. At the same 60 position of the flywheel 44, dog 66 ;operates pilot valve lI, causing main control valve i l to be. operated by virtue of the pipe connections 92 provided between .these two valves, whereupon fluid under pressure is delivered from valve '54 to cylinder I! by virtue of the pipe connections 93 between the valve 14 and cylinder Tl, whereby-to operate the piston 94 in said cylinder and, accordingly, shift the die head I 36 through 180 by means of plungers 95- and 96 and columns of bearing balls QIand 98', as hereinafter more fully described, the plungers reciprocating with the frame 99 relative to guides I00 and having the end of an oscillating arm IOI extending therein for actuation of the frame. The arm IN is connected by a link I02 with another oscillating arm I03, that is pivotally connected with the piston 94 for oscillation back and forth in the reciprocation of the piston. When the die head 36 shifts through 180, it brings the hole 30, from which the finished rivet or bolt 231) was previously ejected, into position to receive the blank 23, as shown in Fig. 19, at the same time moving the previously initially upset blank 23a into position for its final upsetting operation, in which the blank recedes, as clearly appears in Fig. 20, where a carriage bolt requiring a square portion 39 on the shank under the head 38 is being produced. In the shifting of the die head 36 through 180, the two plungers 85 revolve with it relative to a bracket I04 (see Figs. 3, 4, and 5) that is fixed to the frame 40 and has a right angle outer end portion disposed behind the end of one of the plungers 84, an adjustable back-up screw I05 being provided in this end portion adjustable toward the end of the plunger to provide a positive abutment therefor, and, accordingly, prevent receding of the pin 32, in the initial upsetting operation performed by coning punch 34. A look nut I08 on screw I05 is tightened to fasten it securely in adjusted position. The pins or plungers 84, which are of enlarged diameter in relation to the diameter of the screw I05, may be flat on their outer ends but are shown rounded to semispherical form, as indicated at I01 in Figs. 5 and 6. The plungers 84 are brought alternately into coaxial alignment with screw I 05' by the back and forth oscillation of the die head, and each is moved forward in the knock-out operation and remains. so until brought into alignment with the coning punch 34 and back-up screw 05, at which time the insertion of a new blank. into the die 3I or 3I causes pin 32 to be pushed back and it pushes plunger 84 with it into abutment with screw I05. Close accuracy in the registration of the dies ill and 3 I with the punches 34 and 3! is, of course, highly important, and it will soon appear that the plunger ball mechanism for shifting the die head 36 through 180, once for eachcycle, insures such close accuracy. The punches 34 and 37,, in order to insure accurate positioning thereof are adjustable dicated in dotted lines in Fig. 8, are adjusted rotatably with the block II3 into exact register with the dies 3I and 3|, whereupon the bolts H4 are tightened to lock the same in adjusted position. Dogs 64 and 66 are pivoted and spring pressed toward operative position in the same .way as dog 65, for the same reasons, and the .star wheels of valves I0 and 'Il may be equipped with one-way ratchet wheels for a similar reason as valve I0.

(,4) The ram 35 continues its backward movement, and at the position of the flywheel 44, the dog 01 operates pilot valve 72, whereby to actuate control valve I5, with which the pilot valve has pipe connections, as indicated at H5,

end the cycle.

'jecting end thereof as the dies close.

the valve 15, in turn, delivering oil under pressure to cylinder 18 with which it is connected, as indicated at H6, to operate the piston H1 working in said cylinder and cause the cut-off knife 24 to be operated to cut off the blank 23 and transfer it to alignment with the empty hole 30 in whichever one of the dies 3| and 3| is positioned to receive it, as shown in Fig. 19. The ram 35 now moves forward, and punch 34 pushes the blank 23 into the hole 30, and as the dies come together, as shown in Figs. 17 and .20, the initial upsetting operation is performed on this newly inserted blank, and, at the same time, the final upsetting operation is performed on the other previously upset blank by punch 31. Where carriage bolts are being produced, the square shank 39 is formed as the blank recedes into the die 3| or 3|, as the case may be, the bulged portion 29 furnishing the bulk of the metal necessary for the square shank portion 39 under the head 38. Here again, it is clear that dog 61 is pivoted for one way operation like dogs 64-66 for similar reasons, and valve 12 may have a one-way ratchet wheel for its star wheel for the same reason as valves and II.

(5) At the 300 position of the flywheel 44, with the ram 35 moving forward, dog 66, which as stated before, is of a pivoted, one-way type, normally urged upwardly under light spring ,action to operative position, is deflected by the star wheel on valve H and passes idly under it, so as to leave said valve undisturbed until the 60 position in the next cycle, when said dog again operates valve H to cause reverse operation of the control valve 14 for reverse movement of the piston 94 in cylinder ll, whereby to shift the die head 36 back through 180 to the initial .verse movement of piston l I! in cylinder 18 to return the cut-off knife 24 to its starting position to The reason this operation is delayed to this extent is to insure insertion of the blank far enough in the die hole so that the gripping clip 4! in disengaging will not be apt to cause the blank to get cocked. The cut-off knife 24 is disposed at the far end of the blank remote from the upsetting die 34, so that the instant the blank is pushed part Way into the hole 30 by the die 34 the cut-off knife 24 can be and is retracted, the upsetting die 34 thereafter finishing the insertion of the blank and, finally, upsetting the pro- It is common practice to provide fora variation in the timing of withdrawal of the cut-off knife in relation to die movement in headers in relation to the length of the rivets being produced. Thus, shorter rivets twill necessitate much closer timing. The dog 68 is also a. one-way, pivoted, spring-pressed type like the other dogs but is arranged to work in the reverse direction. In other words, this dog passes idly under the star wheel of valve 12 in the rearward movement of ram 35 but functions to operate said valve in the return movement of the ram. Here again, it is clear that valve 12 may have a one-way ratchet wheel in connection with its star wheel to prevent reverse rotation thereof.

Each of the valves 13, 14, and 15 contains a spring loaded relief valve I I8, and each has a fluid return pipe H9 extending from the relief valve communicating with a common return pipe I20 that extends to the sump 62, and, in the operation of any one of the cylinders I6, 11, and 18, the piston is moved by the first input of oil, but the pump 55 continues to deliver oil in excess of what is needed and the excess oil is bypassed through the relief valve H8 to the sump 62. The same thing occurs in the event there is a jam preventing normal movement of any one of the three pistons, the same relief valve I is associated with the obstructed or immovable piston allowing immediate bypassing of oil to the sump, so as to prevent expensive breakages and consequent long interruptions of service of the machine. Assuming, for example, that the knock-out pin 84 cannot be moved with the normal pressure exerted by piston 88, the relief valve HS in control valve 13 opens and there is no damage to the machine by the breakage of a part or parts of the knockout mechanism. In like manner, if the die head 35 is obstructed and fails to turn, the relief valve I IS in control valve 14 opens and there is no breakage of any part of the die head shifting mechanism. Also, if the cut-off knife 24 encounters any obstruction, the relief valve H8 in control valve 15 opens and no damage occurs. However, bearing in mind the fact that the flywheel 44 is turning rather fast and cannot be stopped instantaneously, I may provide in the right hand pipe of pipe connections 8|, 93, and H6 leading to cylinders 18, H, and 18, respectively, relief valves in lieu of the relief valves I I8, and have all of these relief valves interconnected electrically with solenoid valves in the same pipes, whereby to close all of the solenoid valves whenever any one of the three relief valves opens, so that even though the machine keeps running for even a few minutes, or longer, the feeding of wire stock 25 into the machine is discontinued, the knock-out mechanism does not function, nor is the die head 36 shifted, nor the cut-off knife operated, so that nothing can be damaged and it is merely up to the operator to shut off the machine and correct the difliculty that has caused the automatic cessation of normal functioning of the machine. If desired, the switches controlling all of the electric motors for the machine can be included in the automatic shut-down operation. Another, but not as practical arrangement is to provide relief valves in the same pipes mentioned, each operating a switch to break the circuit for the machine drive motor alone, or the circuits for all of the electric motors in the machine simultaneously, all of these switches being connected in series in the circuit for the electric motor, or motors, so that build-up in pressure in any one of the cylinders 16, ll, and 13 causes stoppage of the machine. If a power operated brake is provided, arranged to be automatically applied when either of the relief valves opens to break the circuit for the main drive motor, that system would prevent serious damage to the machine. In this connection, attention is called to the brake means shown at I50 in Figs. 2 and 4, which is operable by manual depression of the foot pedal l5l, to assist in stopping the machine more or less abruptly, to facilitate set-up work. This brake means I50 could also be used as a part of the power brake, or a separate power brake can be provided.

"The pump 55 delivers oil under a predeter mined pressure through a spring loaded check valve I 2| to the valve I3 and through pipe I22 leading from valve I2 'I to valves I4 and I5. When either one of the relief valves H8 opens, oil is immediately bypassed to the sump 62, but also directly back to the pump 55 through the pipe connect-ion i23 for recirculation. A pipe I24 delivers oil from the pump 55 to each of the pilot valves 19, -II and 12, as indicated by the branches I25. When these valves are in neutral positions the incoming oil is returned through pipe I25 to the sump, but when either of these valves is shifted by the cooperating dogs t l-98, oil is delivered under pressure to the associated control valve I3, M, or I5. Thus, when valve I9 is turned in one direction, oil is delivered therefrom through one of the pipes 79 to shift the valve piston in'the body of the valve I3 to move the same in the appropriate direction for appropriate movement of piston 89, and vice versa when valve 19 is shifted in the opposite direction. In like manner, when valve II is shifted in one direction, oil under pressure flows through one of the pipes 92 to move the valve piston in the body of valve I4 in one direction for appropriate operation of piston 94, and vice versa when valve II is shifted in the opposite direction. Likewise when valve I2 is shifted in one direction, oil'under pressure is delivered through one of the pipes I I5 to cause movement in one direction of the valve piston in the body of valve I5, to cause appropriate movement of piston Ill, and vice versa when valve I2 is shifted in the opposite direction.

In passing, I should state that while I have shown pilot valves Ill-I2 designed for direct hydraulic operation of the control valves 13-15, it should be understood that I may use electrical controls instead and substitute solenoid operated valves for valves I3!5. Thus, when, for example, dog operation of a switch unit at 19 occurs the electrical solenoid for valve I3 is energized and causes operation of said valve. Valves like or closely similar to those illustrated at I9, II, I2, 73, M and I5 are so common in hydraulic control systems for various purposes that it was not considered to be necessary to illustrate all of the details thereof.

In conclusion, attention is called again to Figs. 11-13 and related Figs. 5 and 6, for a better understanding of the important feature of the ball operation of the oscillatably shiftable diehead 36. It was mentioned before that the shifting of the die head on the frame instead of on the ram enables running at higher speeds without too much vibration. The die-head 36 is supported on a spindle I35 that is supported in radial and end thrust bearings I3! in the frame and has the knock-out plungers 8d slidable in parallel bores I38 provided therein. Oscillatory movement through 180 is transmitted to the head 36 through the plungers 8 by a drum I39, which has parallel bearings I49 mounted thereon, in which the reduced outer end portions of the plungers M are slidably mounted. The drum I39 has two spaced raceways IM of semi-circular shape in cross-section which register with similar raceways Hi2 provided in the bearing I43 that is mounted on frame 43 in which drum I39 is rotatably received. The raceway I42 in which balls 9! operate extends through a little more than 130 as shown in Fig. ll, and the raceway M2 in which the other set of balls 99 operate extends through a little more than 180 on the diametrically opposite side of the bearing I43, as

iii

shown in Fig. 13. There are radially projecting lugs I44 on the drum I39 in diametrically opposed relation, extending into raceways I42 and serving both as abutments for the balls 91 and 98 and as abutments for engagement with stop screws I45 adjustably mounted in the bearing I43 at the upper ends of the raceways M2, the two sets of balls 97 and 98 being both movable into said raceways at their lower ends from the tangentially extending bores I 46 in which the plungers and 96 operate and moving in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction depending upon whether the frame 99 carrying the plungers 95 and is moved in one direction or the other. The frame 9% is positively reciprocated by the hydraulically operated piston 94, but is held resiliently in either limit position by virtue of the fact that the oscillatable arm I9I, which trans mits movement from the piston 94 to frame 99, engages opposed plungers I4! slidable in bores in the frame and held by coiled compression springs I58 in tight engagement with the opposite sides of the arm IBI. Thus, the right hand spring I48 in Fig. 11 is the one active in that case to hold the drum I39 spring pressed against the stop screw M5 at the limit of counterclockwise shifting of the die head 36. Screws I49 threaded in the bores in the frame 99 can be adjusted to increase or decrease the spring pressure and held in adjusted position by'the lock nuts shown. Screws Hi5 are accurately adjusted to align dies 3! and 3I' with punches 34 and 31 at both extremes of movement of the die head 36 with drum I 39, and lock nuts on these screws are tightened to hold the same in adjusted position. The use of balls 91 and 98 means elimination of all play in the die head shifting mechanism and makes for easy and quiet operation with minimum wear, While permitting general speeding up of the operation of the machine for maximum production.

In conclusion, while I have illustrated and fully described my invention as applied to a two-stroke header, it should be obvious that if two wire feed and cut-off mechanisms were provided, one on each side of the die head 36, instead of the one herein shown at 505I and 24, and both punches were of the form of finishing punch 31, a singleblow machine of practical design is obtained in which two rivets or bolts are produced per cycle, using a stationary die head. Also, it is easy to see that the present two-blow machine, producing one bolt or rivet per cycle, can be made to produce any multiple of that number per cycle, if the machine is enlarged and the same multiple of coning punches and the same multiple of finishing punches are provided and the die head is equipped with as many dies on each side of center as there are coning and finishing punches, whereby to operate in the manner of the machine herein disclosed. The blanks for such a machine can be supplied from above or below the coning punches, one wire feed and one cut-off knife being provided per coning punch, or a separate blank cutter can be provided and the blanks fed to transfer means serving the various coning punches so that they insert the blanks in the associated dies in the coning operation, similarly as above outlined in the description of the machine herein illustrated.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claim has been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

A cold forging machine for forming heads on bolts and the like comprising, in combination, a frame, a ram reciprocable thereon, a coning punch and a finishing punch carried by the ram in spaced relation, a die head rotatably mounted on the frame carrying two dies in the same spaced relation as the punches and arranged to be coaxially aligned therewith in reversed order in each half revolution of the die head, a cut-oil die independent of the die head, a combined cutoff knife and blank gripping unit reciprocable relative to the cut-ofi die radially with respect to the rotary die head and operated in timed relation to the rotation of said head to cut blanks and feed them one at a time to whichever die is disposed on that side of the head nearer the cutoff die, means for turning the die head a half revolution per cycle so that in one cycle a blank disposed in one die is coned by the coning punch and the same blank in the next cycle is finished by the finishing punch, pins slidable endwise in the dies behind the blanks and arranged to be revolved with the dies, means to support the pins against backing up in the upsetting operations comprising a fixed back-up abutment behind the die head coaxially aligned with the coning punch arranged to be engaged by the outer end of whichever pin is disposed in operative relationship to said coning punch, and knock-out means 12 behind the die head and aligned with the finishing punch for engagement after the finishing operation with the outer end of whichever pin is aligned with the finishing punch to move the pins forward to eject the finished blanks, said pins being slidable rearwardly to back up position with the blanks in the insertion thereof.

ROBERT R. AKEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 809,520 Meyer Jan. 9, 1906' 1, 24,046 Weeks Apr. 23, 1912 1,300,240 Blakeslee Apr. 15, 1919 2,038,543 Clouse Apr. 28, 1936 2,104,297 Friedman Jan. 4, 1938 2,128,152 MacMillin Aug. 23, 1938 2,155,920 Alberts Apr. 25, 1939 2,204,043 Maclagan Jan. 11,1940 2,227,810 Mitchell Jan. '7, 1941 2,236,221 Shwayder Mar. 25, 1941 2,303,662 Schmartz et al Dec. 1, 1942 2,364,716 Huebner Dec. 12, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,753 Great Britain Apr. 11, 1911 56,291 Austria Nov. 11, 19 

